11th ERUS Meeting demonstrates latest in robotic technology

19 September 2014

All-day, state-of-the-art live surgery might have been an important attraction, but it’s certainly not the only important development that drew over 700 delegates to central Amsterdam for three days. Education, state-of-the-art lectures, hands-on training and new developments in certification of the field were important topics for the urologists, nurses and residents that attended the 11th EAU Robotic Urology Section Meeting on 17-19 September.

The first day was marked by three separate programmes, all robotically-themed. The EAUN Progamme was designed for nurses who take part in robotic surgical procedures, and featured lectures from urologists, nurses who shared their experiences from around Europe, and concluded with an interview with a patient who gave a frank and personal account of his pre- and post-surgery experience. Further break-out sessions allowed the attending nurses to choose from several topics of their interest, including patient positioning, QoL issues and hands-on training. Mr. Willem de Blok, Rn, explained that nurses were involved with ERUS right from the start, stressing the importance of qualifications, standardized training and clear roles for the nurses.

Wednesday also saw the Young Academic Urologists – Jr ERUS programme, geared towards residents and young(er) urologists who are looking to be educated on the use of robots in their clinic. Important topics for this target audience are training programmes, the financial picture, literature reviews and case discussions. A third component of the Monday was the European School of Urology courses, highly-specialised and well-attended courses on robotic urology.

The “regular” ERUS programme, featuring three live surgery sessions on both days was described by participants as the “best robotic urology event, by a large margin”. The connection between the Maasstad Hospital in Rotterdam and the Beurs van Berlage Congress Venue allowed simultaneous streams of HD, 3D feeds from the operating theatre. The audience followed along as world-renowned experts demonstrated their techniques, taking questions from a panel and the audience.

Please keep checking back for interviews with key figures from ERUS, offering insights on the event and the present and future of robotic urology!